At Mashable, we celebrate bears.
There are no bears on Mars, but even though Mars may have been thriving with tiny microbes decades ago, we celebrate a feature of Mars that looks like bears. There are so many, it’s no surprise that one of them resembles one of the galaxy’s most enduring, amazing, downright impressive creatures known.
NASA’s Mars orbiter, known as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter(opens in new window)has a powerful camera (called the High Resolution Imaging Experiment, or HIRISE) that captures a detailed view of the surface of Mars. Recently discovered this bearish area.
“This feature is a bit like a bear’s face,” writes Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona.(opens in new window), to operate the Hirise camera. “What is it really?”
Life under the surface of Mars is more plausible than ever, scientists find
he continues:
“There is a hill with a V-shaped collapse structure (nose), two craters (eyes), and a circular fracture pattern (head). Could there be a crater… could the nose be a volcanic or mud vent and the sediment be a lava or mudflow?”
Couldn’t agree more.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona
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On Mars, NASA is currently scouring Mars for hints of past life. After all, water once thrived on a dry, frozen, harsh planet.
Specifically, the space agency’s car-sized Perseverance rover is exploring the dried-up delta of Jezero Crater on Mars, where planetary scientists believe there once was a lake. “This delta is one of the best places on Mars for the rover to look for signs of past microscopic life,” he said.(opens in new window).
Indeed, planetary scientists may never find traces of past life on the surface of Mars (they may have to look for microbes that may be alive and underground). . A geological feature that looks like an excellent representative of the Earth. Thank you Mars Bear.
This story has been updated with more information about the formation of bear-like Mars.
